The present invention relates to network management and particularly, although not exclusively, to a method of implementation of a management system.
The advent of broadband networks"" technologies such as ATM and SDH is causing network operators and suppliers to re-think the way in which telecomms systems are constructed and managed. Monolithic network elements such as tandem switches are now being replaced or augmented by a new generation of systems which comprise loosely coupled elements distributed across a broadband infrastructure. Furthermore, the services offered by such systems need not map precisely onto a set of dedicated elements, as the various elements can now share their resources across services in a flexible manner.
This decoupling of services from elements and resources presents new management challenges. Services offered by such systems must be managed, as they are the primary instrument of revenue generation for network operators. Equipment and resources must also be managed in order to support services effectively. Additionally, management of services needs to be coupled with management of equipment and resources in order to automate those management processes, such as flow-through provisioning and service impact analysis, which contribute to efficient, cost-effective operations.
These new systems have the following characteristics which impact upon their manageability.
Systems and services are composed from logical resources (e.g. resilient processing platforms, diversely routed connections) which are themselves constructed out of physical components and assemblies of components. Integrated management requires manipulation of the relationships between components and resources within each service context.
Systems are Quality-of-Service (QoS) users of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) overlay onto the underlying broadband network. Details of the broadband network should be hidden from these systems in all but exceptional circumstances.
Equipment types are heterogeneous, multi-technology and potentially multi-vendor. Because these systems incorporate novel and proprietary approaches to the provision of services, there are usually no standard information models to support management at the levels of equipment and logical resources.
Services are complex and need to be managed separately from the logical and physical resources out of which they are constructed. Speed-to-market pragmatics demand reuse of resource management functionality across different systems and services wherever possible.
Prior art inventions have addressed this problem from several perspectives. Blau, Eneroth and Carlsund (WO 95/34974) proposed creating xe2x80x9cblack-boxxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9cwhite-boxxe2x80x9d models on an interface between an operations support network and a managed system, with a hierarchical composition of models based on the ITU xe2x80x9cmanaged elementxe2x80x9d concept. Hayball, Bragg and Tattersfield in U.S. Ser. No. 08/921,649, now abandoned, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,625 the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, have proposed a design method and management system architecture which separates management of equipment from management of application and allows potentially many different interface xe2x80x9cviewsxe2x80x9d to be supported. These inventions address the desired structure of management systems (internally) and interfaces (externally), but do not provide a consistent, comprehensive means to link the models and/or interfaces together in order to support truly integrated systems management.
This invention introduces a concept of a xe2x80x9crealised-byxe2x80x9d association to extend the ITU TMN framework to support integrated management. The invention is targeted towards integrated management of systems and services constructed from distributed elements (hereafter known as xe2x80x9cthe networkxe2x80x9d). It is therefore applicable to several levels of the TMN hierarchy (network element, element management, network management and potentially service management). The invention is also equally applicable to the way in which data and functionality is structured within a managed system and to the way in which management functionality is exported across a management interface, such as Q3 interface, to an Operations Support System (OSS) or other user.
Aspects of the present invention combine with the teaching of U.S. Ser. No. 08/921,649, now abandoned, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,018,625 to form an overall network modeling method, with an object of raising of the semantic level at which a network is managed in a way that is compatible with existing standards. The network modeling method systematically groups low-level Managed Object classes found in a Management Information Base (MIB) schema of a typical network management in higher-level units of modeling. These higher level models represent the network to the management system and are the means by which the management system applies commands to the network.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a network management system for managing a communications network, said management system comprising:
at least one processor; and
a data storage device,
wherein functionality and resources of said communications network are represented by managed objects, and at least one association links classes of said managed objects representing said functionality with classes of said managed objects representing said resources.
The processor and data storage device cooperate for management of said communications network by storing said managed objects and by performing operations on said managed objects, which are replicated by corresponding operations carried out on physical resources such as network elements and components represented by said managed objects.
A plurality of said associations may be contained within a realisation model.
The realisation model preferably comprises at least one realised by association.
Preferably, the associations comprise pointer attributes of classes of said managed objects representing said network functionality and said network resources.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of creating a network management system for managing a communications network wherein functionality and resources of said communications network are represented by managed objects, said method comprising the step of:
creating at least one association linking classes of said management objects representing said network functionality with classes of said managed objects representing said network resources.
Preferably said classes and said associations are represented by means of object oriented modeling.
According to a third aspect of the present invention there is provided a design method for creating a management system for managing a plurality of physical and logical resources, said design method comprising the steps of:
identifying a unit of said resources to be managed as a whole;
for each of a plurality of functions carried out by said managed unit, representing said function by a xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d representation in which said functionality is represented as a set of managed objects, independently of the specific physical resources which provide said functionality;
for each said xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d managed object representation of functionality, representing physical and logical resources which implement said functionality by at least one xe2x80x9cwhite boxxe2x80x9d managed object representation; and
associating said xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d managed object representations with their corresponding xe2x80x9cwhite boxxe2x80x9d representations by means of a plurality of associations.
Suitably, a plurality of said xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d representations are collectively associated with a corresponding plurality of said xe2x80x9cwhite boxxe2x80x9d managed object representations, by a plurality of corresponding said associations.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention there is provided a management system for managing a plurality of physical and logical resources co-operating to provide communications functionality, said management system comprising a data processing means and a data storage means, a method of representing said physical resources by a plurality of managed object models comprising:
a management unit object model, said management unit object model comprising a model of xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d managed objects representing a functionality provided by said resources independently of implementation of said functionality;
a plurality of xe2x80x9cwhite boxxe2x80x9d managed objects, said xe2x80x9cwhite boxxe2x80x9d managed objects representing implementation of said functionality by said plurality of physical resources; and
a plurality of associations, said associations connecting a plurality of endpoints and capabilities of said xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d managed objects with a corresponding set of end points and capabilities of said xe2x80x9cwhite boxxe2x80x9d managed objects.
A said association comprises an asymmetric relationship.
A said endpoint may comprise a managed object representing a physical endpoint.
A said endpoint may comprise managed object representing a logical endpoint.
A said capability may comprise a managed object representing a behavior which represents transformation of data between at least one endpoint and at least one said xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d managed object.
A said capability may comprise a managed object representing a cross-connection between first and second physical or logical endpoints.
A said capability may comprise a managed object representing an interworking function between first and second physical or logical endpoints.
A said xe2x80x9cblack boxxe2x80x9d managed object may comprise a behavior object, said behavior object representing interconnections between said physical resources